I used to ask Nazir, if he was my husband or son today?

Hers is one of the first names that come to your mind when you think about the Malayalam film industry’s legacy. Indeed, Sheela is one of the first glam-queens of Mollywood. As Sheela reminisces her initial days in the film industry and her co-stars it becomes evident that her zest for cinema is still intact.
How did it all begin?

I debuted as an actor through theatre, at the age of 13. Actor-director SS Rajendran and actress CR Vijayakumari were a popular jodi those days.
Director Ramanna once happened to see a play of mine at Raja Annnamalai Mandram Hall in Chennai. I was just 17 then. He happened to like my performance and I was offered a role in the Tamil film Paasam, alongside MG Ramachandran. And there was no looking back.

How was your first acting experience?

Since I was well trained in theatre, I was never nervous in front of a camera. In those days, we used to have 30 days’ rehearsals before a play during which we worked on our expressions, postures and body language.

I had no inhibitions about sharing screen space with MGR, as I wasn’t aware of his fame at that time.
How did you enter the Malayalam film industry?

Those days the shootings were held in Vijaya Vauhini Studios, which had multiple floors, and it used to be the prime location for the production of most films. While I was shooting for Paasam, the set next to mine was that of the Malayalam film Bhagyajathakam.

Its director-producer P Bhaskaran and actor Sathyan were on the lookout for a heroine. Somebody told them that there is a Malayali girl, who is acting with MGR and referred my name. Though I seemed like a podipennu for them at first, I was chosen for their project as well.
The women characters you essayed those days were strong and the roles were path-breaking.

Also there were no TV soaps to keep women pre-occupied. So most of them used to go to theatres for entertainment. So, the films were made in such way that it would match their sensibilities. I think characters such as Saramma in Sthanarthi Saramma,

Kallichellamma

, Karuthamma in Chemmeen and Kathreena in Velutha Kathreena were all based on popular novels which influenced filmmakers.

The rapport you shared with your co-stars

I have worked mostly with Madhu, Sathyan, Sukumaran and Jayan. More than being friends, all of them were true professionals. During break time, we used to catch up on the important things that happened in each other's lives. Since there were no mobile phones, we had so much to talk about unlike today, when we don’t have anything to converse after constantly being in touch over the phone.

And about my female co-stars, Sharada and Jayabharathi were extremely close and friendly to me that there was no sense of competition among us. We never used to chat about films or the roles we were doing. The topics of discussion used to be family matters and saris etc.
How was it to hop from one film set to the other?

I used to mechanically movie from one film set to another. However, hopping wasn’t much of a hassle as film sets used to be located in different rooms in a multi-storey building. In fact, it was only after meeting Prem Nazir that I would ask him whether he was playing my son, brother, husband or father that day. (laughs).

Favourite films so far...
In Jalatharangam, I played a cancer patient and brought in the emotional turmoil of a woman, who is a wife and a mother. My other favourites are Chemmeen, Ashwamedham, Vazhve Maayam, Kalichellamma, Oru Penninte Kadha, Karinizhal, Paasam and the list goes on. I don’t even remember some of the films that I have done in Telugu or other languages, as I used to just go and do my part and come back. I have worked in around 520 films in total.

Your thoughts on new generation films and the actors...

I am fond of the films these days and I am equally proud of the strides that Malayalam cinema has made. The filmmakers are so young today that they leave me amazed and I wonder from where they garner so much of experience. At my time, it was only after acting in around 300 movies that I finally stepped into the shoes of the director for Yakshagaanam. I think kids today are a blessed lot.

Though I like new generation films a lot, they seem inspired from some Korean classic and are later stretched into a three-hour film rather than making it look like a story by itself.

Biju Menon is my favourite actor, as he carries off every role with much poise, no matter what is given to him. He is very good looking as well. Anoop Menon is a very promising actor. When it comes to actresses, Lena is very versatile and Kavya Madhavan is a sundari kutty, I would say.

You are part of

Basheerinte Premalekhanam

. Tell us more about it...

My role in the film would be quite different this time. I play a Muslim woman in it. However, I am just a character in the movie and the film does not revolve around any one person in particular. Though Madhu and I are in the same movie, we don’t have any combination scenes in Basheerinte Premalekhanam. I liked the story very much and I had watched the director’s early movies such as Kumbasaram and Zachariayude Garbhinikal, both of which haunted me for two days after I watched them. This was what prompted me to take it up. Also, I have always wanted to play a Muslim woman on-screen.